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U.S.-China Tensions Ease Before Bush Trip

Given the tortuous recent history of Chinese-American relations, the atmosphere surrounding President Bush's visit to Beijing this Thursday and Friday is amazingly relaxed.

American officials hope there will be progress in controlling the spread of weapons. They are pleased that China has agreed to a live broadcast of the leaders' news conference, to allow Mr. Bush to display his Texas charm to the masses.

The Chinese are likely to release a prominent dissident or two by way of a welcome gift. They seem willing to suppress their deepest fears about American intentions in Asia, instead celebrating their partnership against terrorism.

Small-bore agreements on the environment, energy, health care and trade may be signed with fanfare. But no one expects this visit -- by coincidence, exactly 30 years after President Nixon's stunning first meeting with Mao -- to yield major advances or ugly encounters.

Chinese leaders worried as Mr. Bush took office that their country was becoming the new whipping boy of American foreign policy. That fear eased after Sept. 11, when it became clear that the United States had an overriding new global enemy.

''Sept. 11 changed the agenda of American foreign policy,'' said Wang Yong, executive director of the Center for International Political Economy at Beijing University. ''China became a less important issue for the United States.''

He said the underlying problems in Chinese-American relations had not disappeared. ''But recent events have given the two countries some time,'' he said, ''a chance to work toward stronger long-term relations.''

Apart from the nasty surprises in recent years that have caused strains -- like the American bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade and the episode with an American spy plane -- each side retains serious concerns.

The Chinese worry that the Bush administration will tilt toward Taiwan and sell it ever more advanced arms.

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This week China, which continues to view Taiwan as a renegade province, is certain, at a minimum, to insist that Mr. Bush restate his fidelity to ''one China.'' But the potentially explosive issue of arms sales will receive only passing reference, diplomats predict.

The Chinese wonder how temporary the surging American military presence in Asia will be, and they were frightened by Mr. Bush's declaration of an ''axis of evil'' consisting of Iraq, Iran and North Korea. They know that some Bush officials would not mind if the American plans for a national missile defense also served to neutralize China's nuclear forces.

The Americans are alarmed by what they say is China's failure to halt its exports of nuclear and missile technologies, and they are monitoring China's own military buildup.

The yawning American trade deficit with China is a perennial issue, and President Bush has made it known that he will press China about religious oppression and legal rights.

Yet an image of friendship is being scripted for what is officially described as a ''working visit,'' rather than a ''summit meeting'' with its required pageantry. For now, Washington and Beijing appear eager to nurture the good will and shared interests growing out of the war on terror and China's scheduled opening of markets as it enters the World Trade Organization.

By all accounts, China has supported American goals in Afghanistan and the effort to cool tensions between India and Pakistan because it wants to further its own interest against Muslim extremism as well as improve ties with the United States.

Chinese leaders have even swallowed their misgivings about the spread of American bases in the region, which some military experts here fear is part of a long-term plan to encircle and contain China.

China has agreed to permit the opening of an F.B.I. office here, diplomats say..

One factor driving China's cooperative stance these days is its desire to avoid foreign crises at a time of economic turmoil at home and imminent turnover in the national leadership, said Kenneth Lieberthal, who was a top adviser on Asia policy in the Clinton administration.

''Right now the Chinese are really looking to avoid external complications,'' Mr. Lieberthal said. ''They are not out there looking for issues to express great outrage about.''